French apple cake

For ➑
95 g household flour
¾ tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
4 large apples, preferably from a different species (Boskoop or Elstar),peeled & quartered
2 large eggs (or three small ones)
150 g sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
115 g unsalted butter, melted & cooled
3 tbs rum
20 cm cake tin

Preheat the oven to 175°C.
Butter a cake tin of 20 cm.
Mix flour, baking powder and salt thoroughly.
Cut the apple quarters in two, first lengthwise, then again, crosswise.
Beat the eggs until they are frothy with an electric blender. Add the sugar to the eggs, and beat the mixture until it is quite firm.
Add rum and vanilla extract.
Add ½ of the flour mixture, and mix it with the hand..
Add ½ of the butter, and mix it with the hand..
Repeat with the remaining flour and the butter.
Use a rubber spatula to gently mix the apples into the batter. Make sure all the apple pieces have a layer of batter on it.
Pour into the buttered springform pan, and bake for 50 m to an hour.
The top will look golden brown and a knife should come clean out of the cake.
Allow at least 10 m (up to 1 h) cooling in the form. Proceed with a knife around the inside of the mold, to loosen the cake. Place a plate on top of the cake and turn the cake onto the plate, to remove the bottom of the springform pan (it helps again with a knife to cut along the inside of the pan).
Serve warm or cold. With whipped cream if wanted. The cake can be saved for 2 days.

The so-called 'Marie-Hélène French cake recipe' was a hype throughout the world as being the best apple cake recipe ever.

Flourless chocolate & almonds cake

For ➏-➑
115 g bittersweet chocolate, broken into pieces
6 tbs (85 g) butter
85 g sugar
85 g powdered almond, (ground almonds or almond meal)
1 tbs brewed espresso
1 tbs rum
3 eggs, separated

Preheat oven to 145°C. Line the bottom of a spring form cake pan or a tart pan with a removable base, with parchment paper and butter the sides.
Put the chocolate and the butter in a bowl and melt over barely simmering water. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar, almond powder, rum and coffee until smooth. When the mixture has cooled, mix in the egg yolks, one by one.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks then fold them into the chocolate batter. Pour into the prepared mold and place in the oven for 45 m.
Allow to cool in the cake pan before unmolding. Sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar before serving.

Caffè shakerato

For ➊ glass
6-8 ice cubes
1-2 ts simple syrup**, or to taste
1 dash liqueur, such as rum, sambuca, or Amaretto (optional)
2 shots freshly made, hot espresso

In a cocktail shaker*, add the ice cubes, simple syrup, liqueur**** (if using), then finally the freshly made espresso. Put the lid on and shake vigorously for 10 to 15 s. The shaker should become ice cold and the mixture should become a light caramel-colored froth. 
Strain the liquid into a chilled martini glass, ensuring no ice cubes end up in the drink.
If desired, garnish with a coffee bean or a dusting of cocoa powder—or go for it and top with whipped cream.

*If you don't have a cocktail shaker, improvise with a jar with a screw top lid. You can also make this in a blender and you'll end up with a super frothy cocktail-like drink that will feel like you're drinking a caffeinated cloud.
**Boil one part sugar with one part water in a small saucepan until the sugar dissolves. Store in a jar in the refrigerator for a week.
***Spice things up by spiking the coffee with a dash of something alcoholic. Try rum, sambuca, or amaretto. Or add some vanilla extract or a twist of lemon zest for something different.
Add it to the shaker before the hot coffee, which must always come last.

Old-Fashioned

For ➊ cocktail
1 sugar cube (or ½ ts loose sugar)*
3 dashes Angostura bitters
club soda
6 cl rye whisky or Bourbon

Place the sugar cube (or ½ ts loose sugar) in an old-fashioned glass.
Wet it down with 2 or 3 dashes of Angostura bitters and a short splash of water or club soda. Crush the sugar.
Rotate the glass so that the sugar grains and bitters give it a lining. Add a large ice cube. Pour in the rye (or bourbon).
Serve with a stirring rod.

*Or use simple syrup (¼ to ¾ whiskey).

The Old-Fashioned is the ur-cocktail, dating from the early 19th century. A 'cock tail' was a morning drink made up of a little water, a little sugar, a lot of liquor, and a couple splashes of bitters. Freeze the water, make it with whiskey, and you have an Old-Fashioned. The 60's variation, with a cherry and orange peel was revived with the 'Mad Men' television series.
The Jack Daniel's bourbon variation: gently muddle orange peel, cherry, 1.5 cl sugar syrup and 4 dashes of bitters in an old-fashioned glass. Optionally, add a Maraschino cherry. Add ice and stir in part of the JD Single Barrel bourbon until it dilutes. Keep adding Single Barrel and ice. Garnish with orange peel.
It could also be made with Dutch or Belgian jenever or rum.

Montezuma chocolate cocktail

For ➋ (large)- ➍(medium)
60 cl milk
75 g plain chocolate
pinch allspice
pinch powdered ginger
1 tbs honey
7.5 cl rum
5 cl eau de vie de marc or brandy
rind ½ lemon, grated

Heat the milk gently with the chocolate, spices and honey.  When the chocolate has melted, leave to cool. Pour the milk into a cocktail shaker, add rum and brandy/eau de vie de marc, and grated lemon rind. Shake well.
Refrigerate.*
Shake again before serving.

*Serve it warm, without cooling. Don't shake,but blend.

A cold grog variation on Mexican spiced hot cocoa.

Mexican hot chocolate with tequila & cayenne

For ➋ servings
70 cl milk
125 g premium dark chocolate, broken into chunks
6 tbs cocoa
2 tbs cane sugar
⅛-¼ ts cayenne (or paprika)
12 cl tequila (or white rum)
10 cl heavy whipping cream
ground cinnamon for garnish

Warm the milk in a medium size heavy saucepan on medium heat, watching carefully.
Add the chocolate, the cocoa and the sugar.
Heat until the chocolate dissolves, whisking to combine all ingredients.
Season with the cayenne pepper. Start with ⅛ teaspoon and season to your taste.
Pour the warm milk into 2 large mugs and add 2 oz of tequila.
Top with whipped cream. Sprinkle whipping cream with cinnamon.

Gâteau au yaourt (French yogurt cake)

For ➑
2 large eggs
25 cl whole milk plain unsweetened yogurt
160 g sugar
8 cl vegetable oil
250 g all-purpose flour
1½ ts baking powder
½ ts baking soda
a good pinch of salt
1 ts pure vanilla extract
1 tbs dark rum

Preheat the oven to 180° C  and line a round 25 cm cake pan with parchment paper.
In a large mixing-bowl, gently combine the yogurt, eggs, sugar, vanilla, oil and rum.
In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Fold the flour mixture into the yogurt mixture, mixing just until all traces of flour disappear.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan, and bake for 30 to 35 m, until the top is golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean.
Let stand for 10 m, then transfer to a rack to cool.

Zombie cocktail

For ➊
1 measure* dark rum
1 measure* white rum
1 measure* old rum (optional)
½ measure* apricot brandy**
2 measures* pineapple juice
½ measure* lime juice
2 ts powdered sugar***
cocktail cherry & pineapple wedge

Add all the ingredients into a cocktail mixer with ice and shake, then pour into a hurricane glass. Spear the pineapple and cherry onto a cocktail stick and place on the edge of the glass.
Finally add a straw.

*1 measure would be 3 cl.
**Use orange curaçao instead.
***Use a (grenadine or cinnamon) syrup instead.

The Zombie, also known as skull-puncher, is a cocktail with an extremely high alcohol content (1 Zombie equals 3-4 average cocktails, hence the Zombie name). It is made of fruit juices, liqueurs, and various rums. The first recipe seemed to have had 3 different kinds of rum, lime juice, falernum, Angostura bitters, Pernod, grenadine, and a combination of cinnamon syrup and grapefruit juice. It was invented by Donn Beach of Hollywood's Don the Beachcomber restaurant in late 1934. It became popular at the 1939 New York World's Fair. It survived as a trendy cocktail at tiki Hawaiian style parties of the 40's and 50's.

Sauce au rhum (French rum sauce)

For ➍-➑
60 g sugar
10 cl heavy cream
60 g butter
2 tbs dark rum

In a saucepan, bring the sugar, cream, and butter to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer gently for 5 m. Remove from the heat and stir in the rum.
Serve over ice cream or use it to glaze a fruit tarte.

Zuppa Inglese (Italian trifle)

For ➍-➏
200 g Savoiardi or ladyfingers biscuits
75 cl milk
50 g flour
100 g sugar
30 g bitter cocoa powder
4 egg yolks
10 cl of rum
10 cl Alkermes or other aromatic liqueur, for example Strega or Amaretto (or use a self-made quick coffee liquor)
whipped cream & maraschino cherries for decoration

Have ready a deep, smooth-sided mold, lined with aluminum foil or oiled paper.

Put all but 10 cl of the milk in a pot. Heat over a very gentle flame.

Beat the yolks in a deep bowl with 75 g sugar, then sift in the flour, beating steadily.

Put the remaining sugar in another pot,d mix the cocoa into it, stir 2 tbs of cold milk into the mixture. Heat it over a low flame, avoiding lumps.

Gently stir the remaining cold milk into the egg mixture. Stirring constantly, add the hot milk to the cream. When the cream is well mixed, gently pour it back into the pot. Return it to the slow burner. Heat, stirring, until it barely reaches a boil, and cook for 2 m, stirring gently. Remove the pot from the fire, pour half the cream into a bowl, and gently stir the chocolate into the remaining half to obtain both pastry cream and chocolate cream.

Mix the rum and liquor with 5 cl of water in a bowl, brush the Savoiardi lightly with the mixture, and use them to line the pudding mold.

Pour the pastry cream over the Savoiardi. Cover it with a layer of brushed Savoiardi, and finish with the chocolate cream, followed by a final layer of brushed Savoiardi. Cover the pudding with aluminum foil and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 12 h.

Remove the foil, cover the mold with a serving dish and upend it, so the pudding comes to rest upon the serving dish. Remove the aluminum or oiled paper of the mold.

Serve it either chilled, or partially frozen. Decorate with dollops of whipped cream, and maraschino cherries cut in half.

'Zuppa Inglese' (meaning: English soup) is a close variant of an English trifle, especially common in Tuscany, because the English tourists who lived in the region a century ago often asked for it. Recipes first appeared in the towns of the Emilia-Romagna region, in the late 19th century. Some date it back to the 16th century kitchens of the Ferrara Dukes of Este, who asked their cooks to recreate English trifle.

Le cocktail Lumumba

For ➊
6 cl dark Cuban rum*
12 cl milk**
5 ts cocoa powder**
whipped cream*
chocolate shavings*

For the warm version, heat the milk to drinking temperature.

Add rum and cocoa. Stir.

Top with whipped cream and add chocolate shavings.

For the cold version, mix milk and cocoa (or use chocolate milk**). Add rum*. Pour on ice cubes.

*For the original version, use vodka. Omit cream and chocolate shavings. Use brandy instead, or an equal mix of brandy and coffee liquor.
**For the original version, use dark chocolate milk.

When after the Congolese independence in 1960, Patrice Lumumba became prime minister and declared himself a partisan of mild communism, his fate was sealed by murder. In the former motherland Belgium, his name was used to mix a quite racist, but delicious cocktail of chocolate milk and vodka (the Russian influence). After his death, he was considered a martyr by African nations and by the USSR who honored his legacy with a stamp.
The cocktail disappeared in Belgium but lived on in several versions, hot and cold, with rum substituting the vodka (suitable enough, as Cuban fighters were involved in the Congo wars). (Sometimes it is replaced with brandy and/or coffee liquor, omitting the milk).
The warm version comes close to a simple version of the mighty Mexican serpent's chocolate.

Serpent's chocolate

For ➋
150 g extremely bitter chocolate
4 tbs strong espresso coffee*
½ tbs butter
3 egg yolks, creamed
3 egg whites, beaten

Melt the chocolate slowly with the coffee on top of the stove. Stir and when it forms a cream remove from heat.**
Add the butter and the egg yolks immediately stirring in well.
Cool the chocolate cream.
Fold in the egg whites gently. Refrigerate for 24 h.
Remove about 30 m before serving. Embellish with a dot of slightly sugared whipped cream or a drizzle of amaretto.

*Alternatively, use 1 tbs of brown rum and 3 tbs coffee.
**Slow melting in the microwave can achieve good results. You might need to adjust the liquid.

(Slightly) Mexican, bearing the name of the Serpent God who brought chocolate to the world .